Among the most beautiful flowers, there is one with the scent reminiscent of a subtle sensual rose, which particularly fires up the imagination : it’s CATTLEYA, the rarest and most precious of all orchids, discovered in Amazonia in the 19th. century and named after the English Lord Cattley, the first to import it into England.

Until the middle of the 1930’s, the CATTLEYA orchid was a « must have » in the English and European refined high societies :This orchid began to be grown everywhere, it inspired jewellers, and it became customary for gentlemen to send out in the morning to the home of the lady they loved, a CATTLEYA as a love-token, which she proudly pinned on her bodice, before their afternoon walk or evening out.This is how the CATTLEYA orchid became the symbol of Love.

While the Cattleyas were all the rage, Marcel Proust, author of the French literary masterpiece, In Remembrance of Things Past, made the CATTLEYA his by taking out of its name one « t », converting that extraordinary orchid, into CATLEYA, the symbol of sensual romantic Love. In Marcel Proust’s « Swan in Love », while Swan and Odette enjoy an afternoon out in a carriage, Odette feels a sudden urge for intimacy with Swan : « She had to return home urgently « to make Catleya », for her desire for him was so sudden, so inexplicable, so imperious… ».

The CATLEYA fragrance, first LISE LONDON masterpiece, is synonym of quintessence, of love,of sensuality, of passion, of beauty, of happiness and the ultimate refinement, which won her the first prize in Paris at the « Beauty Challenger Award » for best perfume, best concept, best packaging and best marketing.

According to Miguel Matos from Fragrantica, the LISE LONDON CATLEYA is a powerful Fragrance, although rather chaste; read how he describes it : « Catleya has a powdery freshness, it smells clean but not in a sterile way. It smells very natural and rich, full of blast and longevity. It is noted everywhere it goes but in an unimposing way. There is an interesting diffusion about it, like in translucent clouds of white, fluffy petals of rose with something that has a wine taste. The iris here is the ecclesiastic kind, pure, white, dusty and heavenly. Nothing is heavy in Catleya and if it contains a “Secret Love Code” it is a pure one. There is a powdery sweetness in this scent that shows some animalic tones and this comes from beeswax and mimosa. It brings a furry and sweet quality to Catleya and increases its complexity as well as hinting at a natural impression. Sandalwood and amber give body and ground to the perfume even if they are not the most noticeable notes here. To fill all the gaps, there is this very present white musk envelopment that elongates the clear and clean cotton-like impression. »